Latest KFF Health News Stories
Chronically Ill, Traumatically Billed: The $123,000 Medicine For MS
Shereese Hickson’s doctor wanted her to try the infusion drug Ocrevus for her multiple sclerosis. Even though Hickson is trained as a medical billing coder, she was shocked to see two doses of the drug priced at $123,019, with her share set at $3,620.
Measure To Cap Dialysis Profits Pummeled After Record Spending By Industry
The dialysis industry raised nearly $111 million in a successful bid to defeat the measure, which also was opposed by hospitals and doctors. The union that sponsored the measure collected about one-sixth that amount.
Ad Check: What Happens If California Limits Dialysis Center Profits?
Both sides in the contentious and expensive battle over California’s Proposition 8 are cherry-picking the facts ahead of Tuesday’s vote as dialysis companies spend record amounts to persuade voters through ads.
Heart Drug Spotlights Troubling Trends In Drug Marketing
Critics worry the marketing of Vascepa, a purified fish oil product, could prove a fish story.
Spending Against Dialysis Ballot Measure In California Breaks Record
Dialysis companies have contributed more than $110 million to defeat an initiative on California’s Nov. 6 ballot that would limit their profits — breaking the $109 million record set by the pharmaceutical industry in 2016.
Fact Check: Who’s Right On Protections For Preexisting Conditions? It’s Complicated
Consumers favor ACA’s safeguards on the promise that patients who have health problems can get insurance. In the heat of the midterm campaigns, politicians in both parties agree, but their arguments don’t always add up.
Will Maine Voters Decide To Make Aging In Place Affordable?
A ballot initiative in Maine proposes that free home care services be available to all residents who need help with at least “one daily activity.”
Patient Advocacy Or Political Ploy? Union, Industry Square Off Over Dialysis Initiative
The measure, which will appear on the November ballot, seeks to cap industry profits. The SEIU-UHW union has raised almost $17 million, but opponents from the industry have invested more than four times that.
Feds Settle Huge Whistleblower Suit Over Medicare Advantage Fraud
A DaVita subsidiary will pay $270 million over allegations that it cheated the federal government for years.
4 Takeaways On Puerto Rico’s Death Toll, In The Wake Of Trump’s Tweet Storm
The controversy over the death toll from Hurricane Maria continues as the president tweets that the official estimate adopted by territory officials is a political ploy.
El alto precio de la insulina lleva a que pacientes la racionen, a riesgo de muerte
El precio de la insulina en los Estados Unidos aumentó más del doble desde 2012. Eso pone a la hormona que salva vidas fuera del alcance de algunas personas con diabetes.
Insulin’s Steep Price Leads To Deadly Rationing
Alec Raeshawn Smith was 23 when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and 26 when he died. He couldn’t afford $1,300 per month for his insulin and other diabetes supplies. So he tried to stretch the doses.
What exactly is sepsis, and why is it so dangerous? Who is most vulnerable? And what are the signs? KHN explains in this video.
Avoidable Sepsis Infections Send Thousands Of Seniors To Gruesome Deaths
No one tracks sepsis cases closely enough to know how often these severe infections turn fatal. But the toll — both human and financial — is enormous, finds an investigation by KHN and the Chicago Tribune.
Incendios forestales afectan el doble a californianos de bajos recursos
Ya viven en vecindarios a pocas millas de fábricas y carreteras. Los incendios solo han agravado los problemas de salud de esta población vulnerable.
Low-Income Californians Feel Twice The Burn From Wildfires
People living near highways and agricultural and industrial zones get hit with a “double whammy” when smoke blows into their neighborhoods, where the air is often polluted already.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico answer listeners’ questions about health policy and politics.
The Pluses And Minuses Of Allowing Medical Marijuana At School
As more parents turn to medical marijuana to treat their sick children, a handful of states have changed the rules to allow them to administer the drug on campus. California is considering it — at the possible risk of losing federal funding.
La última sorpresa de la vida: adultos mayores que deben cuidar de sus padres
Con tratamientos médicos que prolongan cada vez más la vida, un nuevo escenario genera preguntas: adultos mayores de 60 o 70 años que deben atender a sus padres nonagenarios.
A Late-Life Surprise: Taking Care Of Frail, Aging Parents
More and more older adults, age 60 and older, care for their elderly parents and face physical, emotional and financial stress.
